N/A
A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrights.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to folding devices for clothing, and more particularly to an apparatus for folding shirts and tops in an efficient, compact and uniform manner.
2. Description of the Background Art
Clothing stores commonly display garments, such as shirts and tops, on display shelving neatly folded in a compact uniform manner. Shoppers routinely rummage through garment displays, removing, unfolding, and replacing garments while shopping. In order to maintain an orderly retail display it is important that such garments be folded in a neat, compact, and uniform manner. Accordingly, store employees spend a great deal of time re-folding and re-shelving garments. As a result, the background art reveals a number of devices designed to facilitate the folding of garments so as to minimize labor costs by assisting in the folding process.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,947,349, issued to Shaalan, discloses a garment folding apparatus having a rigid body portion which serves as a folding guide. U.S. Pat. No. 5,417,641, issued to Warren, discloses a device for folding articles, such as shirts, comprising a base, a generally flat main member, and two side panels foldably attached to the main member. U.S. Pat. No. 5,417,351, issued to Grosz, discloses a portable device to aid in the folding of shirts comprising a horizontal support structure, a vertically extending support part, and a horizontal carriage projecting forwardly from the support part in substantial horizontal spaced relationship above the support structure. U.S. Pat. No. 5,154,329, issued to Dorfmueller, discloses an apparatus used for the folding and storing of a shirt. The Dorfmueller apparatus comprises a substantially flat and generally rectangular main member with arm members extending from each upper corner area of the main member. U.S. Pat. No. 5,011,052, issued to Craig, discloses a folding device for apparel consisting of a flat member having a plurality of creases that allow the operator to manipulate a shirt in vertical and horizontal stages so as to achieve proper folding. U.S. Pat. No. 5,131,574, issued to Usco et al., discloses a folding device consisting of a pivotally connected plate and frame provided with locking pieces to assist in hand-folding of shirts. U.S. Pat. No. 3,989,172, issued to Wiedemann et al., discloses a folding device for shirts that includes a stiffening panel about which the shirt is adapted to be folded. The stiffening panel forms a slit for insertably receiving a sleeve of a shirt to eliminate the need for pins.
Finally, a folding device sold under the trademark FAST FOLD(trademark) is shown on the Internet site www.fastfold.com. The FAST FOLD device includes four hingedly connected panels which function upon manipulation by the user to fold a garment placed thereon. There are, however, a number of disadvantages with the Fast Fold device. Specifically, the panels of the Fast Fold device lay substantially flat on an underlying supporting surface, such as a table, making it difficult for the user""s fingers to grasp and flip the panels during use. In addition, it has been found that rapid folding back of the panels, primarily the side panels, creates suction that causes the garment to adhere to the panel and thereby effectively unfolding the garment. Finally, the Fast Fold device is designed for use with a folding method that requires the device to be larger, and hence more difficult to handle.
Accordingly, there exists a need for an improved garment folding device that avoids the disadvantages present in the devices of the background art.
The present invention provides a low cost garment folding apparatus for rapidly folding clothing, such as shirts and tops. The device comprises four (4) hingedly connected panels including a main panel, opposing side panels, and a bottom panel. The opposing side panels and the bottom panel are each pivotally connected to the main panel by hinge members. The hinge members permit the folding of the panels during use and further permit the device to be configured for compact storage.
The apparatus may be constructed to any suitable size. For example, one size apparatus may be configured for adult clothing and another size apparatus may be configured for children""s clothing merely by altering the dimensions of the panels.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a garment folding apparatus for use as an aid in folding clothing such as shirts and tops.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a garment folding apparatus that is simple to use, durable, and of low cost.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a garment folding apparatus that increases folding efficiency by enabling a user to fold shirts and tops more rapidly than with folding devices of the background art.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a garment folding apparatus that is ergonomically designed for ease of use and manipulation.
These and other objects will become are achieved with the apparatus and folding method disclosed in detail below.